The majority of commercially available golf balls are advertised as having high spin rates since such spin rates are desirable for the better golfer. A high spin rate in a golf ball indicates that the ball rotates very rapidly about its axis when struck by the skilled player. The advantage of the high spin rate is that the ball can be made to produce a reverse or back spin so that the ball stops very quickly when hit into a green on an approach shot.
While high spin rates are desirable for the professional or better golfer, most amateur golfers are not capable of hitting a ball in a manner to produce controlled spin on the ball. More importantly, most amateur golfers have a swing which is either an inside-out or outside-in swing that produces side spin on the ball. Side spin causes the ball to move laterally off a desired target line, i.e., in either a hook or slice direction. For such amateur golfers, a better golf ball would be a ball with a reduced or even zero spin rate so that the ball travels in essentially a straight line from the club face without the detrimental side spin. A ball which eliminates most of the spin will travel a further distance in a desired direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,304 describes a low spin golf ball in which the spin rate is reduced by using the combination of a soft core and a hard outer cover. In addition, that patent suggests that spin rate can be further reduced by decreasing the weight of a softened polybutadiene core while maintaining core size and by increasing the thickness of the cover. The golf ball in the '304 patent may also be made larger than the standard 1.680 inch golf ball to provide a further reduced spin rate. While these designs are successful in reducing the spin rate of golf balls, many golfers object to a golf ball which has a very hard feel such as occurs when using a very hard cover on a golf ball. When struck with an iron club, such golf balls tend to induce vibrations into the club which are undesirable even to the unskilled golfer. Furthermore, while the use of a ball which is slightly oversized, such as, for example, the Top Flite Magna.TM. sold by Spalding & Evenflo Companies, Inc., many golfers are opposed to using an oversized ball and would prefer to have a ball which is the same size as those played by professional golfers. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a ball which has the same general feel and size characteristics of the ball used by professional golfers while at the same time having the advantage of a very low or zero spin rate to compensate for side spin often induced by the amateur golfer.